It is generally known in the art for a supplier of a commodity, such as grain, to agree to contract with a third party, such as an elevator, to price the commodity for transfer at some future date. By pricing the grain prior to delivery, the supplier obtains security against market price volatility. Similarly, with more information concerning future storage needs, the elevator is better able to manage its resources. While this technique reduces risks associated with market volatility, it also prevents a supplier from capitalizing on the same volatility. Preferably, a supplier would desire to price a smaller quantity of commodity at a period when the market is reflecting a lower price, and price a larger quantity of the commodity when the market is reflecting a higher price. Suppliers are often willing to substitute a small increase in risk for an opportunity to capitalize on upward fluctuations in a commodity market.
One drawback associated with pricing smaller amounts of a commodity at different periods of time is the time and effort required to monitor the market, decide on an appropriate time to price the commodity, and execute the documentation required to price several small quantities of the commodity. As suppliers typically desire to capitalize on market swings shortly after large fluctuations, the suppliers must constantly access information regarding current market conditions. Even a short delay can turn a potential profit into a loss. It would, therefore, be desirable to allow a supplier to capitalize on market fluctuations by allowing the supplier to price portions of a commodity at different time periods, while limiting the time, effort and monitoring required to execute pricing of the commodity over a particular time period.
Over the years, various automated systems have been developed to aid in the trading of commodities. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,507 and 5,285,838 describe utilization of a centralized computer database to facilitate the pricing of bales of cotton. While such a system is useful for markets such as cotton, wherein each individual bale is associated with a particular level of quality control, such a system would not overcome the drawbacks in the prior art associated with the periodic pricing of small quantities of a substantially fungible commodity.
Other patents in the prior art include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,041, METHOD FOR RESTRICTING USER ACCESS RIGHTS ON THE INTERNET; U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,502, INTERNET-ENABLED PORTFOLIO MANAGER SYSTEM AND METHOD; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,451, METHOD FOR FULFILLING REQUESTS OF A WEB BROWSER. Above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,507; 5,285,383; 5,678,041; 5,706,502; and 5,701,451 are incorporated by reference herein, as is commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/335,648 for a method for electronically initiating and managing agricultural production contracts. The difficulties encountered in the prior art discussed hereinabove are substantially eliminated by the present invention.